CEMP Guidelines for marine monitoring and assessment of beach litter.

Abstract

1.1. The reduction of pollution of the marine environment by macro- and microlitter is one of the great environmental challenges facing society today. 1.2. Under its draft North-East Atlantic Environment (NEAE) Strategy 2020-2030, OSPAR has a strategic objective to significantly reduce marine litter to levels that do not cause adverse impacts. This level, referred to as “Good Environmental Status” (GES), is also the objective set by the European Union (EU) in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC). 1.3. Measures to reduce the input of marine litter and to remove litter from the marine environment are presently being implemented through actions at the OSPAR level (OSPAR Marine Litter Regional Action Plan/ML RAP) and through national actions. For Contracting Parties (CPs) who are EU Member States, measures implemented within the scope of the MSFD also contribute towards this objective. To direct these actions and assess their effectiveness in reducing marine litter pollution, but also to assess if GES and associated threshold values (TVs, Werner et al. 2020) are being achieved, indicators have been developed. Regarding marine litter, one of these indicators is the “Abundance, composition and trends of marine litter washed ashore and/or deposited on coastlines, including analysis of its spatial distribution and, where possible, sources”, referred to as “beach litter”. The indicator reflects spatial differences and temporal changes in abundance, composition and sources of marine litter in the coastal environment and is used as a proxy for litter pollution in the OSPAR marine environment. 1.4. Beach litter is defined by OSPAR as any persistent, manufactured or processed, solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment, and encountered on beaches. A part of this litter originates from the sea, through deliberate or accidental losses from vessels (including cargos and waste), and transported to and deposited on the coast from the sea by winds and water currents. Another part is directly deposited on the coast by humans, e.g. tourists, fishers or the results of fly-tipping. Litter is also deposited further inland on riverbanks, directly into rivers, in urban areas and in the countryside and is subsequently transported by rivers, rain and wind into the marine environment and onto beaches. In addition, sewage infrastructures discharge litter items directly or indirectly, via rivers and sewage outlets into the sea and these items can be washed ashore. 1.5. The aim of this document is to provide guidelines for the monitoring and assessment programme for the OSPAR beach litter indicator that allows effective (i) detection of spatial differences and temporal changes in abundance, composition and, if possible, sources of litter encountered on beach monitoring sites and within country-regions, (ii) assessment of GES and associated TV achievement and (iii) evaluation of the effects and efficiency of OSPAR ML-RAP actions.